Grader



H. L. DEVER.

GRADER. APPLICATION FILED JAN- 7, 1921.

Patented July 111, 1922.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

H. L. DEVER.

' GBADERL APPLICATION FILED JAN. 7, 192m.

m2 W mm m]. K m

GRADER.

Application filed January 7, 1921.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, HENRY L. Dnvnn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Uwensboro, in the county of Daviess and State of Kentucky, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Graders, of which the following is a specification.

One object of my present invention is to provide a grader or ditching machine in which the blade may be readily reversed without requiring the entire machine to be turned. Another object of the invention is to eliminate unnecessary parts, thereby simplifying the construction and reducing the cost of production as well as decreasing the draft without reducing the strength of the machine. Another objectof the invention is to provide improved means for adjusting the free end of the blade vertically and also to provide improved means for holding the machine to the line of travel.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings and will be hereinafter fully described, the novel features being subsequently pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings- Figure l is a side elevation of machine embodying my present improvements;

Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof, the reverse position of the parts being indicated by dotted lines;

Fig. 3 is an elevation of the landside of the machine viewed from the side opposite that seen in Fig. 1; 1

Fig. 4: is a rear elevation of the blade;

Fig. 5 is a detail rear elevation of a portion of the blade showing the connection of the draft bar thereto;

Fig. 6 is a detail transverse section of the blade on the line 66 of Fig. l;

Fig. 7 is a detail perspective view of the support for the free end of the blade;

Fig. 8 is a detail perspective view of the brace.

In carrying out my present invention, I employ a landside l which may be a metal bar or plate of any desired thickness having its ends preferably beveled, as indicated at 2. To the ends of the landside, I rigidly secure brackets or hinge members 3 consisting of parallel leaves adapted to be secured to the opposite faces of the landside and connected by a sleeve t in the portion of the bracket which projects beyond the end of the landside, a notch. 5 being formed in Specification of Letters Patent.

shown at 15.

Patented July 11, 1922.

Serial No. 435,704.

the end of the bracket through the said sleeve member. At the inner end of the leaf which is secured to the furrow face of the landside, I provide another sleeve memher 6, the purpose of which will presently appear. The outer face of the landside is, of course, flat and smooth and to the inner face thereof I secure a longitudinal angle bar 7, the horizontal web of which will constltute a platform or foot rest upon which the driver may stand. Rivets or similar devlces 8 inserted through the landside and the vertical web or flange of this bar or rest secure the rest to the landside, and adacent the inner free edge of the rest or platform I provide a longitudinal series of openings 9 through any one of which a pin 10 may be engaged for a purpose which will presently appear. Below the angle bar or rest 7 at the ends of the same, I secure to the landside the runners 11 which may conveniently be flat plates ofmetal having their lower edges suitably beveled or sharpened so that they will readily take into the ground or the roadbed and thereby aid in holding the machine to its path. The ends of the platform or foot rest 7 are beveled or disposed obliquely relatit e to the landside, as indicated at 12, and the blade 13,

when in use, will bear against the said beveled or obliquely disposed end so that it will be braced and held firmly to its work.

The blade consists preferably of a spring steel plate of suitable dimensions having its lower cutting edge curved forwardly, as indicated at 14, while its upper portion is flat and smooth and its upper edge is blunt, as When it is desired to use the device as a drag, the blade is inverted so that its blunt edge 15 will ride upon the ground and the vertically disposed flat face of the blade will be at a right angle to the surface of the ground and will, therefore,

readily push aside the obstructions and leave the road with a smooth finished surface. On the rear side of the blade, near but somewhat below the upper edge thereof, I secure an angle bar 16 which serves to reinforce the blade so that buckling of the same while in use cannot readily occur and below the said angle bar 16, at the center of the blade, I secure a bracket 17 of similar form. At the ends of the blade, I rigidly secure thereto the brackets or hinge members 18 which are spaced apart vertically and are pro-.

vided with eyes or sleeves 19 beyond the respectively adjacent end edges of the blade. \Vhen the blade is to be coupled to the landside, the hinge members 18 are brought into vertical alinement with the eye or sleeve 6 at the inner end of a bracket 3 and a pin 20 is inserted through the alined eyes so that the blade will be pivotally attached at one end to the landside. The pin 20 may be of any convenient construction and will advantageously be provided with a small eye at its'upp'er end whereby it may be easily inserted in place and withdrawn as may be necessary; To prevent accidental withdrawal of the pin, a cotter pin 21 may be inserted through its lower end, as shown in Fig. 1.

A brace 22 is employed to lend additional rigidity to the structure and this brace consists of a plate or bar having sleevesor eyes 23 at its ends and also provided with longitudinalnotches 2 1- in itsends: This brace bar or plate is brought into such position that the notch 24 at one end thereof will receive the inner edge of the foot rest or platform 7 while the notch at the other end of the bar will in like manner receive the horizontal web of the bracket 17. The sleeves or eyes 23 at the rear end of the'b'ar'will register with one or another of the openings 9 and the pin 10 is then inserted through the said eyes or'sleeve' and the opening 9 aline'd therewith thereby securing the brace bar to the foot rest. A draft bar 25 is provided and is shown most clearly in Fig. 1. The said bar is of an arched form so that it will clear the blade and have its downturned rear end disposed in rear of the blade. The said bar terminates in a round stem 26 which is inserted through a suitable opening in the horizontal web of the reinforcing bar 16 on the blade and also through the eyes 23 at the front end of the brace bar 22 and through the opening in the bracket 17 which registers with the said eyes. The draft bar is constructed to provide a shoulder 27 which may rest upon the reinforcing bar 16, as shown clearly in Fig. 5, and a cotter pin or other retaining device may be fitted to the lower extremity of the stem 26 so as to prevent accidental withdrawal of the draft bar. The front end of the draft bar is constructed with an eye or its equivalent so that it may be pivot-ally attached to the end of an'evener 28, the opposite end of said evener being connected with the bracket 3'at the front end of the landside by a pin 29 inserted through the eyes l of said bracket and an opening in the end of the evener, the end of the evener fl tting within the notch' 5 within the said racket, as clearly shown in Fig. 1. Like the pins 10 and20, the pin 29 will preferably beprovided with an eye at its upper end and retained in position by acotter' pin inserted through its lower end. The evener bar 28 is provided with a plurality of openings 30 in any one of which a hook 31 on the rear endof a draft chain 32 may be engaged, and the said chain 32 may be coupled to a tractor or to draft animals so that power may be transmitted through the chainto the machine to draw it over the ground.

Between the brackets 18, at the free end of the blade, I fit a block '33 which is provided with a vertical opening 3 1 near one end which opening will alinewith the sleeves or eyes 19 of the brackets. A pin 35 is insertedthrough the said eyes or sleeves 19 and the opening 34% so as to secure the block to the blade and the block will be so arranged that it will project inwardly with respect to the blade as clearly shown in Fig. 2. In one face of the block, adjacent the inner end thereof, I provide a vertical groove 36 which receives the stem or post 37 which is adjustably secured in the-said groove by bolts or the equivalent thereof inserted through aline'd openings in the stem and the block. From the lower end of the stem 36, a horizontal fork 37 extends and within the rear end of the said fork I mount a gage wheel or roller 38' which is provided with a central peripheral rib 39 adapted to penetrate the roadbed and thereby aid in holding the Ina-- chine to its path. By referring to Fig. 1, it will be noted that the extreme lower point of the rib 39 is in the same horizontal plane with the lower edges of the gage runners 11 so that the platform will be supported in a level position while the machine is in use. Obviously, by adjusting the stem 36 vertically with respect to the block 33 the free end of the blade will be supported at a greater or less distance above or below the surface and the surface of the roadbed, consequently, given any desired inclination. This feature of the machine will be found desirable in forming ditches or terraces or in preparing hillsides for cultivation, as runways to carry off surplus water and effect proper drainage of the land may be very readily and rapidly produced.

In the use of graders of the type illustrated, the driver ordinarily stands upon the platform 7, frequently placing one foot upon the upper edge of the blade so as to obtain a better balance. To enable the driver to more readily retain his position, I provide a guard rail or handle 40 which is preferably an inverted U-shaped bar or red having its ends inserted through suitable openings in the reinforcing bar 16 and engaged in eyes 41 secured upon the back of the blade immediately below the said reinforcing. bar, as clearly shown in Fig. 4. The ends of the guard rail 40 are slightly offset, as indicated at 42, to bear upon the upper surface of the bar 16 so that the rail will be preventedfrom dropping through the bar andwillgbe supported at the proper height to prevent the driver falling forward in front of the blade.-

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, it will be readily seen that I have provided an exceedingly simple and inexpensive device which will possess the strength necessary to permit it to effectually perform the desired work and which may be readily drawn over the line of the proposed road or ditch without imposing excessive strain upon draft animals. By shifting the draft chain 32 toward either end of the evener bar 28, the draft may be applied to the machine in a line which is found most advantageous under any given conditions and the draft bar 25, as will be readily noted, is connected with the blade at the center thereof so that the pulling force will be evenly distributed through the blade. The brace bar 22 is also connected with the blade at the center thereof and may be readily shifted along the foot rest 7 so as to hold the blade at any desired angle. Ordinarily, the bar will be connected with the foot rest at the center thereof and the blade will be disposed at an angle defined by the beveled end edge of the foot rest, the degree of inclination thus given the blade being that found most generally desirable. IVhen the machine has been drawn to the end of the proposed ditch or to the end of the field of operations upon a road and it is desired to return to the starting point, it is not necessary to turn the entire machine as is the case with many machines on the market. To effect reversal of the blade and permit the machine to be drawn back to the starting point, the pins 35, 20 and 29 are withdrawn and the blade and the parts connected therewith are then swung about the pin 10 as a center so as to assume the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, after which the pins 35, 20 and 29 are fitted in place so as to again connect the several parts and hold them in the clotted-line positions. The labor involved in turning the machine is, consequently, minimized.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. In a grader, the combination of a landside, a foot rest secured to one face of the landside and provided with tapered end edges, ablade arranged to bear against either ,of said edges, means for detachably connecting either end of the blade to the corresponding end of the landside, and a brace bar pivoted at one end upon the foot rest and at its opposite end to the blade at the center thereof.

2. In a grader, the combination of a landside, a blade, means for detachably connecting either end of the blade to the corresponding end of the landside, a draft bar pivotally fitted to the blade at the center thereof, and a brace bar pivoted at its rear end to the landside and having its front end pivotally engaged upon the draft bar.

3. In a grader, the combination of a landside, a blade connected therewith, a reinforcing bar secured upon the rear side of the blade, a bracket secured upon the rear side of the blade at the center thereof and below the reinforcing bar, a brace bar connected at one end with the landside and having its opposite end engaging the said bracket on the blade, a draft bar having its rear extremity engaged through the reinforcing bar on the blade and through the said brace bar and the said bracket, the said draft bar being provided with a shoulder bearing upon the reinforcing bar, and means for applying draft to said draft bar.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

HENRY L. DEVER. [1 5.] 

